The Minions of Set
by Blackstaff
Summary: Shadimir, an undead hunter from Chessenta races to some ruins to find the Rod of Osiris, but to get the rod, he will face a foe he has never faced before...Read and Review
1. The Unexpected Job

Tarsakh 14 Year 1368 Year of the Banner

The Unexpected Job

All Shadimir could think about was getting home and seeing his daughter again.

For ten days, the undead hunter named Shadimir Deachron has been traveling the city of Messemprar; capital of Unther, hunting the walking undead that have been recently rising and attacking holy sites throughout the city.

It was the end of his ten-day onslaught against skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and even a mummy, which also meant the end of his ten-day service to a stout fellow named Kibyo. Kibyo was a round man, whose four greatest loves in life were cleanliness, organization, tidiness and serving Mystra, goddess of magic. Though Mystra wasn't his patron deity, Shadimir had seen helping the round cleric, as a favor to his deity, Kelemvor, the recently appointed god of the dead, who had known Mystra when she was the mortal Midnight.

Shadimir had awoken early in his room at the Red Claw Inn, and quickly rushed to the temple to receive his gold. The hunter ran through the quiet streets, not noticing the people staring at his long flowing silver hair, a gift he had inherited from his astral deva grandmother.

Kibyo was giving his morning sermon to the dozens of young men and women, who made up the clergy of Mystra in all of Unther. The clergy was sat in the middle of a circle with seven white candles that brightened the room. The priest watched each of the smiling faces stare up at him. _This is what I was born to do_ he said to himself before he paused to watch his fellow disciples pray in silent to their goddess. Before the round priest could continue his sermon, Kibyo noticed a familiar silver haired young man approaching the doorway. The other clerics didn't seem to notice the young man's appearance, which Kibyo thought was a good thing. "If you excuse me my brothers and sisters, I have some rather important business to attend to," Kibyo said calmly," Please remain praying."

Kibyo slowly walked from the circle and up to the silver haired young man at the doorway. "Do you mind, I am in the middle of something?" the priest whispered harshly.

The young man shrugged. "I know you were. I heard your speech as I ran up the stairs." He slowly looked out at the silent priests and priestesses sitting in their calm circle, then back at the round priest. "Now I'm sure you thanked Mystra for all the ghouls and skeletons being destroyed."

The priest sneered at the silver haired hunter. "You know, I didn't have to hire a faithless mercenary like yourself. Mystra listens to all who pray to her. With just one prayer, I could have easily destroyed all those undead."

Shadimir wanted to reach out his strong hand and pull the fat priest up by the shirt. The hunter wanted to shout at the priest how much he faithless he really was.

He wanted to tell him that back in Cimbar, a large city in the country of Chessenta, his mother Aprilana, was a high priestess of Mystra, who had more power and more love from Mystra than Kibyo could ever fathom. Yet, Shadimir knew neither Mystra, nor his mother would approve of him physically harming the cleric.

"I apologize if I have offended you, or your goddess sir," the hunter spoke calmly and quietly," Still, instead of praying to Mystra you decided to hire a faithless mercenary, and this faithless mercenary would like to get paid now."

The undead hunter slowly walked through Messempar's busy marketplace. Merchants were yelling loudly from their booths, selling high priced weapons, spices that would make the common food even good to kings, and beautiful women who would serve any command given to them.

The one merchant that seemed to catch the hunter's eye had a small wooden stand with necklaces, rings, and bracelets all sitting on golden silk sash. The merchant was a dark haired halfling female with brown eyes, and a beautiful body, even for a halfling.

Shadimir walked up to the stand, getting a better look at the variety of jewelry that was laid out before him. The only items that seemed to grasp his attention were two beautifully crafted lockets. One with a green jade in the middle, and another with two white pearls at each end.

"My daughter's birthday is a little ways away, how much for these lockets?" he asked the pretty halfling merchant.

The merchant's brown eyes lit up in surprise and her jaw slowly dropped. Quickly regaining her composure, she smiled," Ah, these are fine choices. Each locket has a special quality about it." She pointed to the locket with the jade in the middle and stated, "This one is said to be immune to any kind of poison."

The hunter gazed at the jade in the middle, then saw the halfling pull up the locket with a large pearl in the middle. "This locket is very lucky," she said smiling.

"Lucky?" questioned the hunter.

The halfling shrugged her shoulders. "Yes…well at least that's they told me when they pried it from the man's cold dead fingers," she answered.

Shadimir raised an eyebrow at the merchant holding the locket. "If the last person who held this locket died, how is it considered lucky?"

After thinking about it for a moment, the merchant remembered. "Well apparently, the last man to hold this, had died at the hands of seven beautiful succubae," she answered, her face turning a light shade of crimson.

"Oh," smiled the silver haired hunter, trying not to laugh. "So, how much for the lockets again?"

"I don't remember telling you exactly, and you say it's your daughter's birthday." Shadimir could see the halfling, stalling to think of a correct price. "Five hundred and fifty gold for all of them."

_Good thing I'm rich,_ Shadimir thought as he pulled out a large sack of gold he had brought with him from his house back in Chessenta. "Great, I know my daughter Yondalla will be happy when she gets them," he said, placing the large sack of gold in front of the halfling.

"Yondalla!" asked the shocked halfling, surprised that a human would honor the halfling goddess. "You are getting these for the halfling goddess?"

Shadimir laughed for a second, then shaking his head softly he replied," No, my daughter is also named Yondalla, well Dalla for short."

"Well why didn't you say so?" the halfling smiled, reaching into the sack, pulling out a handful of coins, and giving the rest of the gold and the bag back to Shadimir. "I only need a small amount. I am done for the day anyways. Just when you give your daughter the lockets, tell her Deidra wishes her a happy birthday."

"I will, and thank you Deidra," Shadimir nodded as he began to walk away, then heard the someone yelling and the halfling merchant crying from behind him. Turning his head, the hunter saw a large man standing above the halfling, bringing his hand down fast to smack her.

Listening to the voice in his mind that said 'Help her', the silver haired hunter darted over, drawing his mace with his left hand, and intercepting the large man's hand with his mace. Surprised, the large man stood back, clutching his hand that was bruised from landing hard on top of the mace. "I don't want any trouble lad, but me slave owes money for those lockets she sold you," the man said with a drawl in his voice.

"She didn't tell me she was a slave," Shadimir muttered under his breath, looking down at the frightened halfling, then back at the large man. "Does she now," he said coldly.

The man nodded at the silver haired man seeing that he might get to whip his slave for her impudence after all. What he was unable to see, was the young man's hand reach into his pocket. "In that case, here's the rest of the payment," the hunter's shouted, his hand whipping out an even larger sack of coins then before, and struck the large man in the face, knocking him through the merchant stand scattering all the jewelry everywhere. Shadimir threw the large sack of gold on top of the man, then turned to the halfling.

Deidra dried her tears and watched her master lying on the broken pile of what was once her stand, now a large pile of firewood and a fat man who was no longer her master anymore, in the middle of it all. She looked up at the silver haired man, who now to her was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Not seeing her master rise up, she looked up at Shadimir. "Does that make you my new master now?"

Smiling, Shadimir bent down to the halfling and softly spoke," We'll discuss that later, now lets take all these jewelry and go."

Deidra went and picked up the scattered pieces of jewelry. The halfling took one look at her master, seeing a large purple welt that darkened the middle of his face. "What did you hit him with?" she looked up, asking her rescuer with long silver hair.

Shadimir picked up other pieces of jewelry then tilted his head to the halfling. "Oh about one thousand copper pieces, five hundred silver, five hundred gold, and an assortment of diamonds, rubies, and pearls."

Deidra smiled and quietly hummed a song as she continued to snatch the pieces of jewelry from the ground, making the hunter smile once more. As his fingertips brushed the smooth edge of a silver bracelet, a tall purple-cloaked figure appeared in front of him. "Go to the temple of Osiris, and seek your god," he said looking down at Shadimir before he walked away.

Shadimir nodded, seeing Deidra running to catch up with the robed man, in an attempt to try and sell him something. The undead hunter immediately knew Kelevmor had a task for him.

The hunter took one last look at the unconsuis slave owner, then looked around, seeing no one paying any kind of attention. _It must be the quiet hour, _he thought as he quickly rose from the ground, and trailed after the halfling, before she could get into any serious trouble.

Shadimir the hunter, and Deidra the halfling marveled at the large structure that was Osiris' temple The pair hurriedly walked up the grey stone steps to the entrance, where they were greeted by a beautiful dark skinned half-elven woman in white robes, and wore a wooden symbol of the goddess Isis around her neck. The woman, whose name was Jess, led them down a vast hallway that held floating torches in the air. Shadimir quietly noted the hieroglyphs on the walls that depicted the god Osiris as a large mummy, yet they also said he was a god of justice. The pictures also depicted Osiris' death and resurrection, and the war he had with the evil god Set.

As they continued down the halls, Jess spoke about the different teachings of Osiris. What pulled the hunter's attention from the hieroglyphs and onto the beautiful woman's words, were the views Osiris' had about death, being another great journey. To Shadimir, the god's views sounded similar to Kelevmor's.

What caught Deidra's attention, and stopped Jess from talking, was how Shadimir's hair seemed to glow in the dark spots on the temple.

Jess stopped at two large rooms. "These rooms are for those of other religions come to pray to their deities. Your god will await you in there," She said, looking at Shadimir, then looked down at Deidra. "I sense that you want to pray for your goddess as well," she gave the halfling a wink.

Deidra blushed and looked up at Shadimir, then quietly walked into the room on the left. The silver haired hunter thanked Jess, then stepped into the other room.

The hunter slowly closed the door behind him, turning the room into nothing but blackness. Shadimir closed his eyes, switching to his dark-vision, a gift granted to him by his god. The shape of the room came back to hunter, but only in black and white.

In the middle of the floor, Shadimir saw a long white rug. The hunter quickly went to his hands and knees and closed his eyes, awaiting for the god's arrival.

Though no sound was made, and no light brightened the room, Shadimir could feel the presence of Kelevmor, Lord of the Damned.

"Well Shadimir, its good to see you received my message from Jergal," said the god Kelevmor, with his long flowing black hair, and dressed in silver chain armor, and standing tall, before his devoted hunter.

The dark room holding the hunter and the god illuminated with a white light, as Shadimir switched back to his normal, and lifted his eyes open, to meet those of the god of the dead. "That was Jergal you sent my lord?" Shadimir asked, still on his knees, looking upon the glamorous sight of his deity.

Kelemvor, Lord of the Damned nodded to Shadimir. "Yes, and tell your halfling companion Deidra he enjoyed the necklace he bought," the god answered, smiling.

Shadimir nodded, seeing the blue cape that wrapped itself around his god. "I will my lord," he said bowing his head. "Do you have a task for me my lord?" he asked raising rose his head up once more.

The Lord of the Damned nodded. "Yes, but we will get to that in a moment." Kelemvor motioned for Shadimir to stand up. "Mystra is quite pleased that you helped Kibyo and the temple with their undead problems," Kelemvor said proudly, to the hunter.

"Well no offense to the Lady of Mysteries, but hopefully the next priest of Mystra I deal with, won't be such a copper pusher." Copper pusher, was a term Shadimir used when those who hired him, then would try and cheat him out of the payment for his services.

Kelemvor nodded at the silver haired hunter. "Right, well I am sure you would like to get home to your mother and daughter soon. They are well, and they miss you very much, however…"

"However…" Shadimir crossed his arms, beginning to grow impatient with his deity's hesitation.

Kelemvor took a breath, and spoke calmly. "Before you can go home, I have something to ask of you. It's not really any sort of hack and slash mission, but something else." The Lord of the Damned watched Shadimir remain quiet, then continued," You will need to retrieve an artifact. A powerful object, the Scepter of Osiris. It is currently located in some old, but recently discovered ruins of the god Set."

Shadimir's mind went back to the temples hieroglyphs down the hall. He had seen some of the pictures of Osiris, battling Set, which the glyphs depicted the as a muscular man with a jackal's head.

"The scepter was stolen by four priests of Set, who offered it to their god," Kelevmor continued.

Shadimir bowed my head, and nodded. "I hear what you ask of my Lord Kelevmor, and I will retrieve…" The hunter stopped, forgetting about Deidra.

Kelevmor smiled and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder, already knowing what was the hunter's problem. "I know you travel alone Shadimir, but in sometimes it's good to travel with others. It might end up that you deal with evil gods, and in the end get killed by one of your friends, but isn't that the risks all reckless adventurers take?"

Shadimir smiled, but quickly noticed a look of concern on the god's face. "There's more isn't there?"

"The worst," responded Kelemvor softly. "After the priests gave the scepter to their god, they mysteriously vanished. Many servants of Osiris tried to retrieve the scepter. Though it seemed like an easy task, and it would have been, if not for the Minions of Set."

"Minions of Set?" asked the hunter, brushing some of his silver hair out of his eyes..

The Lord of the Damned nodded. "Yes, the Minions of Set, are beasts are unlike any you have ever faced. They aren't any type of undead, nor some hybrid troll or orc. They appear as normal humans, but don't let that fool you. These beasts have the killer instincts of vicious animals when crossed. Serving their master Set, and killing anyone who defies Set, are the only two reasons these creatures exist. I want you to be careful Shadimir. I haven't been a god for very long, and don't have many followers right now, so I don't want you to be one of the first of my faith to enter the Fugue Plane."

"I humbly thank you for your concern Lord Kelevmor." Shadimir said quietly.

Kelemvor smiled and surprised his follower with a hug. "It is not just I who have concern for you, but Arie…Mystra does as well."

Shadimir's face flushed for a moment as he looked at his god. "I appreciate her concern, and forgive me if I sound rude, but I really don't see any special reason for Mystra to carry any special concern for me. I am no Elminster, or Simbul, or Blackstaff. I can't even cast a simple spell. I am just a man who goes around and puts the souls of the walking undead to rest."

Kelemvor nodded, understanding the hunter's confusion about the motives of Mystra. Though he knew her, Kelevmor didn't quite understand her all the way through. Even though he was still coming to terms with his godhood, the lord of the dead did understand some things about religion. "It is said that sometimes the god chooses her chosen, not the other way around. Try and remember that before a ranting mage lectures you about it," Shadimir's deity returned softly. This brought a smile to the hunter's lips, but his attention was focused on what Kelemvor was telling him. "Now then, to get to the temple ruins," Kelemvor continued," You only need to travel on the outside of the Methwood forest. There, you will meet an elf named Carmanea Greensilk. She is a druid, and knows where to find the ruins."

Shadimir nodded, then just thought of another question to ask his god, but before he could say anything, Kelemvor slowly faded into the air, and the light that had brightened the room went with him. The god was gone, leaving Shadimir into a calm blanket of darkness.


	2. The Druid of Methwood Forest

The Druid of Methwood Forest

It was in the middle of the night when Shadimir and Deidra from exited the temple of Osiris, carrying what gear and weapons they had brought with them, and a few items the temple had donated to help them with their mission. In return for their gracious hospitality and generosity, the hunter gave the temple the necklaces, rings, and other jewelry he and Deidra had taken from the aftermath of the earlier confrontation that resulted in the large bruised slave owner being knocked through Deidra's wooden merchant stand.

It surprised Shadimir that the halfling had taken to giving the jewels so well. He had expected her to whine, moan, and pitch a little fit, but when he told her of his mission from Kelemvor, and how the god said the hunter should take her with him, Deidra went along with the idea of donating the valuable trinkets. Deidra just smiled and nodded, saying how it was an honor traveling with the man who saved her from a life of slavery.

The dark haired halfling and the silver haired hunter walked slowly through the dark regions of Unther, with their only guide being the moonlight. They felt a cool calm breeze flow in front of them, and Shadimir could swear he heard a soft word of prayer coming from Deidra calling to her goddess Yondalla.

Hearing the halfling goddess' name brought a small vision of the three-year-old Dalla to Shadimir's mind. He thought about her beautiful smile, and dark brown hair that seemed to be growing longer by the day. Her eyes that matched the same color of his dark blue, and her elvish ears she inherited from her mother.

Thinking about Dalla's mother brought a chill down the undead hunter's spine. She was a powerful and beautiful elven priestess named Lylith who worshipped the vile god Cyric, sworn enemy to Kelevmor, Mystra, and perhaps every other deity in the world of Fauern. About four years ago, Lylith had seduced the young hunter in an attempt to gain some information on the church of Mystra in Cimbar. Shadimir remembered her having long dark hair, just like Dalla's, but her eyes and skin was dark, just like her heart. After what seemed like a night of unending passion, Lylith vanished the next morning without a trace.

It would be a year later when Shadimir found that he had an infant daughter. The child was brought to his doorstep in the late Midwinter night, personally by the woman who had slain the child's mother, The Simbul, the Witch Queen of Aglarond, and one of the Seven Sisters. Shadimir felt no anger towards The Simbul, and watched her fly away, leaving the young man to take care of his infant daughter.

Having thought himself unworthy of Mystra's love and not really interested in donning the itchy robes of a cleric, Shadimir decided instead of going into the priesthood like his mother, he would go into the services of Kelevmor who then had just achieved godhood. The hunter used the Lord of the Damned's dogma of resting the souls of the undead as a motivation to help those who souls haven't been put to rest.

With the aid of a generous wizard casting a teleport spell on them, Deidra and Shadimir reached Methwood in little time.

When they reached the outer edges of Methwood, Shadimir put on a brown hat to cover his glowing silver hair, Shadimir cautiously scouted ahead of Deidra, making sure that neither he, nor his dark haired companion ran into any hostile guests who would just love to have him and Deidra for dinner.

Two hours after moving around the outside of the Methwood forest, Shadimir and Deidra stumbled onto an abandoned campsite, with two large tents and a large mound used for a campfire. The hunter stepped over to the mound, smelling the soft scent of sulfur. _This fire has been used recently_ he thought, which meant that more and likely those who had set up the camp were out in Methwood, and more and likely returning to their camp…or not.

Deidra and Shadimir waited for another hour, seeing no signs of life coming towards their campsite. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed," commented Deidra quietly, then followed it up with a loud yawn.

The silver haired hunter watched Deidra climb into the first tent. The halfling lit a small hooded lantern, allowing her to see a small silhouette of her body where the hunter could see.

_She is pretty for a halfling_, Shadimir thought, but immediately he turned his head as he saw Deidra's shadow beginning to undress herself. "Maybe it's time I get to bed," he said softly, making his way over to the other tent, and slowly climbing inside.

Shadimir lit a hooded lantern of his own, then stretched out a his woolen bedroll and lay on it, staring at the blue ceiling of the tent.

After what seemed like two hours, the hunter's eyes continued to stare at the cieling. "Damn, for just some reason, I can't sleep," he whispered softly, pulling his blanket over him. The hunter couldn't remember the last time he couldn't sleep like this.

Just as it seemed his eyes were good and closed, Shadimir was awaken a loud growl came from outside the tent. The hunter jumped from his bed, grabbing his bastard sword and mace. Someone, or something was trying to get inside his tent, he thought, ready to attack whoever it was trying to get into his tent.

"Jinzoo, what have I told you about scaring people, get away from the tent," scolded a sweet, but angered voice from outside.

Shadimir walked to the entrance of his tent, and peeked his head outside. The silver haired hunter was astonished, seeing the bright sunshine through the green and brown treetops of Methwood. He also looked to see Deidra and a beautiful blond haired elven woman wearing leather armor sitting around the campfire eating eggs and sausage for breakfast. The elven woman smiled at the hunter, as did the halfling.

"I'm sorry if Jinzoo scared you," the elven woman softly apologized. A loud grunt came from the hunter's left. Turning his head, Shadimir saw a large brown furry bear sitting on his rear and smiling at the hunter.

Deidra finished a bite of a large piece of sausage. "Shadimir, you should try some of this breakfast," she said merrily, pointing to the elf," This druid can cook pretty well."

"Druid?" Shadimir remarked curiously. Turning to the elf, he asked," Your name wouldn't be Carmenea Greensilk, would it?"

The elven druid tilted her small chin. "Well last time I went around town, that's the name I used."

Smiling Deidra looked from Carmenea to Shadimir. "I was just telling her how we were looking for her to lead us to the temple of ruins."

Shadimir smiled at the halfling. He both liked how Deidra took the initiative, telling this mysterious druid of their mission. "So, can you help us find the ruins my halfling friend spoke of?" he asked Carmenea.

The druid bit her lip before she gave the silver haired hunter a response. "Well, I don't any temple ruins, but I do know where there is a temple to the god Set."

The hunter nodded. "That is good, we've been assigned to retrieve the Scepter of Osiris."

Carmenea's green eyes widened at Shadimir's words, almost causing her to drop her plate. "You never told me you both were going after the Scepter of Osiris," she furiously said to the halfling. Standing up in front of Shadimir and Deidra, she said, "The Scepter…it has been years since anyone has tried to find it. No one has dared go to that temple. You know what's in there, don't you?. The Minions of Set?" After Shadimir and Deidra gave the elf a quick silent nod, she smirked and commented," You both are very brave, or very foolish."

The hunter nodded. "Yes, but you wouldn't be surprised how often those two are in the same meaning."

"All right," Carmenea giggled, but became serious once again," I will lead you to the temple of Set, but how ever you two choose to die, is strictly up to you both."

Deidra's head turned from her empty plate and looked up to the elf and ," All right, but can I have seconds before we leave?"

It didn't take long for Carmenea Greensilk and Jinzoo to lead Shadimir and Deidra to the temple of Set. Along their way, the druid had pointed out some of the minor sites of Methwood. Rotting troll corpses, fallen and broken trees, and even a wolf mother playing happily with her cubs. Though the beautiful sites and sounds of Methwood calmed his nerves, Shadimir only truly wanted to find the temple and leave with the scepter and the lives of himself and his halfling companion.

Upon their first site of the temple, Deidra noted how it was only a little smaller than the Osiris temple back in Messemprar, except that large golden statues of jackals were lined in front of the temple stairs.

The halfling admitted to herself that she was a little afraid that the statues might spring to life and attack her and her friends. Deidra kept a firm hand on the short sword given to her by the priestess Jess, as a gift.

"Here you are, I will leave you both to your journey, and I wish you the best of luck," Carmenea said softly to Shadimir and Deidra. The elven druid leaned close to Shadimir, and whispered," If you don't make it out of this, don't be afraid to look me up in the Fugue Plane." The druid kissed Shadimir gently on the lips, then vanished into thin air.

To Shadimir, the kiss felt like a cool breeze brushing his lips. He looked down at Deidra, who gave the hunter a wicked smirk.

Shadimir looked at the dark temple entrance. No light could be seen from the inside, and though he could use his dark vision, Deidra's sight would still be limited by her halfling eyes.

Reaching into his backpack, Shadimir pulled out a torch, and struck it against one of the golden jackal statues. The bright orange and red flames flickered across the top of the stick and Shadimir pointed it towards the entrance. The darkness beckoned him and his halfling companion like a seductive demon, drawing willing and unwilling men with the promises of wealth and power, but secretly demanding a lifetime of servitude.

Like the men seduced by a vile demon, Shadimir and Deidra went to their certain doom.

Into the Temple

Taking the lead, Shadimir held the torch and slowly walked in front of Deidra, who stayed back, turning her head every other moment back at the temple entrance to see if anyone was behind them.

As he walked into the lead, Shadimir took special note of the hieroglyphs on the beautiful maintained temple walls. The design of the hieroglyphs were the same as the ones back in the Osiris temple, with the exception that they depicted Set as some sort of marvelous figure who murdered his thieving adversary and how the rest of the Mulhurdoni gods conspired against him, and Osiris being resurrected to continue the battle with his rival Set.

"Now, where have I heard this story before," muttered Shadimir quietly, thinking about all the clerics of Cyric who called his god Kelevmor a thieving bastard, who had stolen the power of death from the One and All.

"Did you say something Shadimir?" asked Deidra quietly, looking up at the hunter.

"Just commenting to myself Deidra," he responded quickly, looking at the detail of the stone carvings on the walls. The hunter wondered how such a temple as large as this in the middle of the woods could be so well cared. No dust, no cobwebs, no rats, no bony skeletons lying on the floor. It was too damn clean. "Kibyo would love this place", Shadimir said with a mocking tone in his voice. Turning to Deidra, he quietly remarked," You know, for being a temple which no one has been to in years, the Father of Jackals sure has a way of keeping his churches clean."

"Maybe that's how the minions serve their master, by cleaning up the dead bones of adventurers and the dusty webs left by spiders," remarked Deidra sarcastically.

About fifteen more steps, Shadimir and Deidra passed a sharp corner. _No sign of dust or rats _he thought, trying to get a good look ahead. In the distance, Shadimir saw a tall altar with a black base and a white marble at the top. In the middle was something that grabbed the hunter's full attention.

Sitting in the middle of the white marble top, was a long black and white stripped rod. "There it is, the scepter," he said softly, his eyes lighting up. The Scepter of Osiris. Now, he could introduce Deidra to his daughter Dalla back home.

Shadimir handed the torch to the quiet Deidra, then cautiously tiptoed his way towards the altar.

Getting closer and closer, Shadimir expected whatever manner of creatures the Minions of Set were, they would jump out at him, slashing their large claws into his skin.

He stopped at the altar, slipping his left hand into his belt, and extending his right hand towards the scepter.

A cool breeze brushed the silver hairs on the back, causing Shadimir's left hand to grab his mace, and with lightning reflexes, turn around and deflect the blade that was coming fast at his neck.

Shadimir drew his mace back, seeing a tall human with purple scaly skin, stand in front of him. The hunter slowly circled around the human looking creature, keeping his mace drawn while slowly drawing his bastard sword.

As he did this, three more forms emerged from the shadows, exactly like the one that tried to attack him. _It's them, the Minions of Set_ Shadimir said in his mind, worried, but not afraid. The Minions of Set, the beasts Kelevmor warned him amount. Shadimir had began to step back a few steps more, but stopped as the minions drew closer towards him.

Each of the four minions held curved blades in front of them pointing them straight at the hunter's lower midsection. The minion in front of Shadimir, brought his curved blade up, thrusting it at the hunter's left arm.

Shadimir brought his bastard sword up, blocking the minion's attack, then swiped his mace against the minion's shoulder. The hunter could hear the force of the blow cracking few bones, but the minion stood tall, unphased by the attack.

The undead hunter brought his bastard sword in an upper right slash, cutting deeply into his foe's face.

The minion of Set staggered back, then grunted to his fellow warriors, commanding them attack the intruder. The three roared an unintelligible battle cry and darted for the hunter.

_I'll be seeing Kelevmor and Carmenea in the Fugue Plane if I stay here and fight them all at once_ thought Shadimir, knowing there was little chance in surviving an attack from all four at once. There was also Deidra's safety, and he would never forgive himself if he let her die in his unholy sanctum.

Down the hall, Deidra's eyes witnessed the brief battle between Shadimir and the four purple skinned humans that were attacking him. "I hope you make it out of there okay Shadimir," the dark haired halfling whispered worriedly.

Her worries slowly diminished as she saw the hunter run down the hall towards her. Deidra was about to ask Shadimir if he grabbed the scepter, but she was quickly scooped from her feet and found herself in the silver haired hunter's strong arms, a place she had never thought she would be.

Shadimir ran down the hall, opposite from where they entered, with the halfling and the burning torch she carried in his arms, the undead hunter could hear the footsteps of one of the minions a few feet behind him. He quickly turned another corner, gently setting Deidra on the ground and stood up against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"What happened!" shrieked the halfling, almost dropping the torch that still burned.

The hunter took a moment to catch his breath, looking down at the halfling. "Well, take a..guess," he said, slowly sitting on the cold floor.

Deidra looked down, thinking she hit a soft sensitive spot, then looked back up at him. "Were those the Minions of Set?"

The silver haired hunter removed his hat and gave her a nod, then scooted himself closer to the dark haired Deidra holding the torch. "Yes, they appeared to be normal looking humans, but when I broke one of the minion's shoulders, then cut his face, it was like he wasn't even hurt."

Deidra nodded holding the burning torch forward and, looking down at the end of the hall. The halfling didn't see any sign of the minions coming forward, but she heard a soft slithering sound moving towards her and the hunter. She pointed her torch down, catching a glimpse of a large snake. The snake recoiled as the light from the torch blinded it for a moment.

"What do you suppose a snake is doing down here?" Deidra asked Shadimir curiously.

"I don't know," Shadimir responded dully as he stood up, moving closer to the snake. At first, the snake looked up at him, then in an instant, the snake wrapped itself tightly around Shadimir's arm, then sinking its fangs into the hunter's skin.

Shadimir felt the snake's fang's break through his skin, clinging on to him tightly. The hunter growled in pain, trying to force the snake off his arm, but the reptile's fangs had penetrated too deeply into the skin. He gave a painful cry as the snake retracted his fangs, then sank them in once again.

Reacting to her friend's cries of pain, Deidra grabbed her torch and brought it close enough to the snake to singe it and not burn Shadimir's arm. Remembering how the snake recoiled away from its brief encounter with the torch a few moments ago, Deidra hoped the snake would be frightened of the halfling's torch.

The snake popped it's fangs out of Shadimir and fell to the floor. The hunter drew both of his weapons, while Deidra drew her shortsword. They watched the snake slither on the floor for a few more seconds, then saw the snake begin to grow large arms and legs, transforming itself into what Shadimir guessed was its true form, one of the minions of Set.

The silverhaired hunter brought his sword into the minion's midsection. Deidra watched the minion stagger a little, then plunged her own blade deeper into the minion's side.

His facial expressions showing no sign of pain, the minion brought his curved blade up, bringing it down on the halfling with tremendous force, but Deidra quickly dodged her foe's attack, and countered it with a hard low slash across the right legs.

Shadimir watched the minion fall to one knee, look back up at him. The hunter bashed his mace hard across the jaw of the minion of Set, causing its head to snap all the way around and it's body to fall to the floor.

They waited a few seconds, making sure the minion was dead. "He didn't cry out in pain, not once," whispered the worried Deidra, who looked back to Shadimir.

"No he didn't, and he's not the only one," the hunter quietly answered. "Deidra, I didn't ask you to come along, so you can leave while I try to finish these beasts."

The halfling pushed away any feeling of fear, and smiled up to the hunter. "Actually you did Shadimir, you just don't remember. Even if you didn't, I would still go with you. I would rather fight and die by your side, then have to spend another day selling jewelry."

Shadimir smiled bent down next to the halfling and shook his head. "Even if you did leave, you couldn't go back to selling your jewelry. Your merchant's stand is broken."

Deidra leaned up and kissed the hunter's cheek. "You worship Kelevmor, yet you have such a good sense of humor. Are you always this funny around others, or is this the side no one rarely ever sees of you?" she asked sweetly.

"Well I'm not this funny around fat priests who try and rip me off," he said with a big smirk. Standing back up, he continued," Even Kelevmor has a sense of humor. If we don't make it out of here and we can meet him in the Fugue Plane, and he can tell you about the time he got drunk and beaten up by Purple Dragons, or the time he tried to sneak an avatar into the baths of Brightwater and catch Sune and the other goddess bathing."

Deidra laughed as she took the lead in front of Shadimir. " Maybe I'll let you tell me the story, after we make it out of here alive."

_If we make it out of here alive_, Shadimir thought gravely.


	3. The Rod of Osiris

The Rod of Osiris

Before they ran towards the altar, Shadimir and Deidra sat silently, saying a soft prayer to their deities to keep them safe.

Shadimir brought his daughter's smiling face to his mind, giving himself something to fight for and to come home to. He wondered if Deidra had thought of something to keep her fighting, but seeing her eyes gaze up at him after she was finished praying, he already knew.

Setting the torch on a holder on the temple wall, the hunter and the halfling made a dead run for the altar, ignoring any purple scaly obstacles that might get into their way. Yet Shadimir knew the three remaining minions would be ready to attack. Sadly, the silver haired hunter was right.

Less than three steps away from the altar, the three minions jumped out at the hunter, but their eyes missed the halfling, running underneath the hunter's legs. Each of their blades slashed at the hunter's leather shirt, but neither one could get a solid hit on him.

Shadimir quickly brought his weapons up, his mace crashing hard against one of the minion's jaws, while his bastard sword slashed a cut on another minion's chest.

Keeping his weapons in front, Shadimir looked out of the corner of his eye, seeing Deidra grabbing the scepter of Osiris, then leaping from the altar. The silver haired hunter prayed to Kelevmor that the minions didn't see the dark haired halfling.

Shadimir's prayers were smashed as one of the minions saw the halfling dart away from the altar, with the scepter in her arms The hunter tried to stop the minion from chasing her, but the remaining two blocked him.

"Out of my way!" shouted an angry Shadimir to the minions, who stayed silent. Seeing the minion's standing, ready to strike, the hunter knew he had no other choice but to fight cut down these two, one by one. Shadimir lunged forward and swiped his blade across the one minion in front of him. The minion tried to block the hunter's blow with his own sword, but Shadimir's sword was extended too far, as the minion's purple arm came flying off when the hunter's sword edge connected with the minion's sword tip. Shadimir pulled his bastard sword from the one armed minion's side and took a step back.

Just then, Shadimir remembered the other minion who had blocked his path. He looked to his left, no longer seeing the purple skinned minion before him, but now a large brown scorpion. Not caring if the scorpion would hesitate to attack him, Shadimir used his sword that had just taken an arm off the other minion, and thrusted his blade into the scorpion's left eye, then drove his mace hard into the large insect's back.

Before he could finish off the wounded scorpion, Shadimir felt a strong arm wrap around his throat, choking him. The hunter tried to struggle free, but minion with one arm was too powerful.

Shadimir watched the scorpion rise its stinger up, pointing it directly at the hunter's chest. The silver haired hunter could almost smell the bland odor of the Fugue Plane waiting for him. The scorpion drew its stinger back, and with lightning speed whipped it forward at the hunter.

Using whatever momentum and strength he could gather, Shadimir whirled himself around, exposing the one armed minion's back to the scorpion's tail. The stinger penetrated deeply into the one armed minion's back, causing its arm to go numb and let go of the silver haired hunter.

Quickly backing away, Shadimir saw the scorpion flinging the minion's body around as if it were a doll. The hunter decided not to stick around and run after Deidra.

Shadimir ran through the dark temple halls, praying to Kelevmor, Mystra, and Yondalla that Deidra had somehow either escaped with her life or ended the minion's that was pursuing her.

The hunter quickly turned a corner, hoping to find Deidra and the Scepter of Osiris, but stopped as a sharp stinging pain surged in the middle of his back, following the feeling of his insides turning upside down.

_I knew I should have worn the jaded locket instead of the pearl locket_, he said to himself as he felt his limbs go numb from the scorpion's poison.

Deidra had no idea where she was as she looked at the open field filled with columns and seats and cloudy grey skies.

The halfling had remembered running from the minion of Set who was pursuing her. She had gotten a good glimpse of him, seeing the misshapen shoulder and the large cut across his face, she figured he was the minion Shadimir first encountered.

When she turned her eyes from the minion's face, she saw herself running into a wall. Just as her hands were ready to catch herself on the wall, Deidra found herself falling through the stonewall and ending up outside in this vast arena like structure, surrounded by stands and empty seats.

Before she could come up with any sort of idea where this place was, the purple skinned white face minion that had been chasing her, came through the same wall she did, and charged at her.

Deidra didn't have much experience fighting, but she had enough knowledge and had watched many fights in the marketplace, to know when to side step a charge. When the minion passed her, the halfling brought her short sword forward, jumping at the minion hard, but falling a few feet short of him.

The minion of Set grinned wickedly at the fallen halfling, and slowly brought his curved blade above his head, ready to cleave it through the halfling's back.

Knowing her death was coming shortly, Deidra silently prayed to the gods above. _Maybe if I pray hard enough, Shadimir will come and rescue me like he did earlier. ._

The minion's blade came down hard, but stopped in midair. Wondering why Kelevmor or Yondalla hadn't come to claim her soul, Deidra looked up, seeing what appeared to be a large scorpion tail launched deeply in the minion's stomach.

Deidra eyes leaked soft salty tears as she looked behind her, seeing a blurry familiar form staggering towards her. "Shadimir!" she cheered, dropping her sword and running up towards the hunter's arms.

Shadimir slowly walked to the halfling, feeling the poison slowly eating away at him. He quickly looked at the scorpion's tail he had launched in the minion's stomach, and remembered how hard it was to actually rip the tail from the scorpion.

Deidra wrapped her arms around Shadimir, but quickly noticed he was staring at the minion. The halfling turned her head, seeing the wounded minion of Set, rip the scorpion's tail from his bleeding stomach and marched over to her and Shadimir.

The undead hunter tried to grab his weapons from his belt, but his hands became numb from the poison.

Deidra felt her friend's body slowly sink to the ground. The halfling went to grab her short sword, but remembered she had left it behind.

"Try..the…scepter…" Shadimir managed to whisper to Deidra, hoping his words could reach the halfling before the wounded, but very angry minion did.

Luckily for the hunter, Deidra heard Shadimir's soft breaths, and quickly pulled out the long black and white stripped scepter. "How do I use it?" she asked worriedly, holding it a few feet from the minion.

A long electrical line shot out from the rod, and shot right at the minion, driving it back. At the end of the electrical line, grew a large spiked ball. Deidra snapped the scepter's line at the minion of Set again, this time the spiky ball connected hard with the bleeding minion, instantly turning him to dust.

Deidra dropped to her knees, crawling back to Shadimir. The halfling brushed his face, feeling the coldness throughout his cheeks. She gently set her ear on the hunter's chest, feeling his heartbeat softly, then slowly begin beating rapidly.

"YOUR QUEST ENDS HERE FOOLS OF OSIRIS, PREPARE TO DIE!" shouted a loud booming voice from all around Deidra and Shadimir. Looking into the sky, Deidra saw a large jackal faced man materialize through the clouds.

Just then, materializing in front of her and Shadimir was a giant man with white bandages covering his whole body.

"Osiris and Set," whispered Deidra, amazing at both sights of the gods. She quickly tried to waken Shadimir, who she knew would want to see this.

The large avatar of Osiris turned from the jackal head in the sky and looked down at Deidra and Shadimir. "Both of you have my thanks," he said in a deep tone, but quiet voice, gently taking the scepter from the dark haired halfling.

Deidra began to feel the ground around her move and her body weightless. She looked to see Shadimir open his eyes and look at the sky at the two gods, but then a bright light that blinded him…


	4. The Trip Home

The Trip Home

Shadimir lay wide-awake back at his room back at the temple of Osiris. He looked at the rug-covered floor, seeing Deidra curled up in a wool blanket, sleeping sound fully. The halfling's snores didn't bother the silver haired hunter, but sitting here in this quiet room doing nothing did.

The hunter quietly exited out of his room, walking over to the hieroglyphs. He studied them again, carefully noting the other events that took place within the Mulharondi Pantheon.

"You both looked pretty banged up when you both came in," Jess said softly, quietly approaching the hunter slowly.

Shadimir nodded at the priestess of Isis. "Would you believe we were retrieving the Scepter of Osiris, battling the Minions of Set, and witnessing a battle between Osiris and Set themselves."

Jess laughed," With what I have seen from many adventurers, I do find that hard to believe."

The silver haired man shrugged. "All right, we actually didn't see the battle between Set and Osiris, but everything else we did."

The priestess laughter turned into a look of sadness, but relief. After getting a confused look from Shadimir, she softly spoke," It's not that I don't believe you, it's just my grandmother died trying to find the Scepter of Osiris. She was a pretty powerful druid."

Wondering if Jess' grandmother was the druid he and Deidra met in Methwood, he quickly asked," Is your grandmother's name Carmenea?"

Jess nodded, then walked over and wrapped her arms around Shadimir, weeping gently. Shadimir smiled, gazing into Jess' green eyes, seeing how her eyes matched those of the druid's.

Jess kissed Shadimir's cheek. "Now her soul can be at rest."

After healing their wounds, and consoling Jess, telling her how they met her grandmother, Shadimir told Deidra he would get a carriage for them in the marketplace.

Shadimir noted the marketplace wasn't as busy as it was before, but he did spot Deidra's former master, now working at the newly repaired jewelry stand. The large former slave owner, now jewel merchant still had the dark purple welt on his face, courtesy of Shadimir's bag. The hunter smiled at the merchant, who slowly avoided the hunter's eyes.

After walking for what seemed like four hours, the silver haired hunter managed to buy a carriage from a rich couple. The carriage was large, had a curtains, and was pulled by two beautiful black horses.

Shadimir slowly wheeled his carriage to the temple of Osiris, where Deidra patiently waited for him. The hunter couldn't believe the many gifts the temple had given the halfling. "They said it was thanks from Osiris," she said happily, climbing into the carriage.

Reaching down for his bags, a tall dark haired carriage driver materialized out of nowhere in front of Shadimir.

"I'll get those for you sir," the driver said with a wink, placing the bags in the carriage.

"So how far to Cimbar, Shadimir?" asked Deidra sitting next to Shadimir, as the carriage traveled up and down the smooth road.

The hunter tried to remember how long it had taken him to travel from Cimbar to Unther. "Maybe, a day or two travel," he responded.

Deidra frowned at the thought of sitting in the carriage for two days alone with Shadimir. It wasn't the hunter was bad company far from it, but the halfling needed something to entertain her.

Remembering back at the temple of Set, Deidra looked up at Shadimir and asked," Aren't you going to tell me the story of Kelemvor trying to sneak into Brightwater to watch Sune and the other goddesses bathe?"

The silver haired hunter bit his lip. He actually never heard that story, but looking up, he saw the Lord of the Damned sitting across from them. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

The dark haired halfling's eyes widened, seeing Kelemvor, donned in a blue silk shirt and brown pants. Kelevmor smiled at Deidra and Shadimir, grinning. "I'm proud of you. Both of you," Kelevmor stated," Shadimir you have proven that you can really face the undead."

"We didn't actually fight the undead," commented Deidra, staring at the god's blue silk shirt."

"True, but Carmenea's roaming spirit was put to rest when you two gave Osiris back his scepter How you had seen the temple was from her eyes, when she herself had tried to retrieve the scepter herself."

Shadimir's thoughts turned back to Jess, who had given him her old, but magical bastard sword; Gabriel, and a deep passionate kiss, just before he left for the marketplace. He had a feeling that their paths would cross again someday.

The hunter's thoughts were interrupted by Deidra's request of the Brightwater Bath Story.

"So what's this about you trying to sneak an avatar into Sune's bathhouse in Brightwater?" she asked the Lord of the Damned curiously.

The Lord of the Damned laughed, then began his story," Well, it was an idea concocted between Tempus, Shaundukul, and Oghama, I was there to help disguise them as bath maidens, and when we were found out, we paid dearly for it…"

The End


	5. Authors Note

Authors Note: The world this story takes place lies in the East of Fauern. The Minions of Set were creatures I found in the Dieties & Demigods book. The Story idea came from an episode of Samurai Jack that I watched, and was in awe of what the Minions could do. The character Shadimir is of my own creation. A version of Van Helsing, mixed with alittle bit of Bruce Wayne (the mild mannered rich man) as well s alittle bit of myself.

(For my best friends Tom and Tina, and for my mom, who give me the greatest support and tell me to go for my dreams)


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